Ties That Bind
by Batdz Angel
Summary: Give me 'cause for love. Fourth and final part of my Running Verse series at least, for now.


**Title:** Ties That Bind  
**Author:** Batdz Angel  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Veronica Mars; the show and the characters are property of Rob Thomas and UPN. I also don't own the song lyrics quoted here or in the title; they belong to Johnny Cash. The poem quoted at the end is by Pablo Neruda; I have this feeling Weevil would be a fan. Or that could be my own bias showing, whatever.  
**Pairing/Character:** WeeVer friendship/romance, mentions of Logan/V relationship and Duncan/V relationship.**  
Rating:** PG-15 for allusions to sexual situations and foul language.  
**Archive: **Just drop me an e-mail or message on my Livejournal and let me know where. I'm always up for sites dedicated to my OTP.**  
Summary: **_Give me 'cause for love...  
_**Spoilers:** Before "Donut Run" aired.  
**Author's Note: **Fourth and final (for now) part of my Running Verse series.

--

"What's this for?"

Weevil shrugs as he leans back against the headboard, white gauze bright against his dark skin. Veronica eyes him suspiciously but can't read his expression so instead she examines the small white box he had given her seconds before. She arches her brow at him from where she sits on the floor and says, "Not small enough for a ring..."

His eyes widen comically.

"But not big enough for a pony," she finishes and then gasps. "Did you buy me a fairy?"

"Shut up and open the damn thing," Weevil retorts, amusement tugging at his lips. Veronica rolls her eyes at him and complies, pulling off the yellow ribbon and opening the box gingerly. Her eyes widen as she sees a familiar silver cross and she looks up at him with curiosity written in her eyes.

"Eli?"

She watches as he drops his eyes shyly, fingers tugging at the hem of his shirt. He coughs and then says, "I want you to have it, V."

She frowns. There's something she's missing here; she can taste it in the back of her throat. Rising to her feet, she climbs onto the bed and takes his hands in hers, saying, "Weevil, why are you giving me your cross?"

He sighs and then lifts his head to look at her. "When I was in the hospital," he says seriously. "I started thinking and it hit me, you know? I'm not gonna be alive someday and even if something happens to me, I don't want you to think that I didn't love you."

"Eli," Veronica protests but he places a finger on her mouth. "Let me finish," he pleads and she nods as he continues, saying, "My mom...she died and I never knew her. My dad was gone before she even gave birth to me and I don't even want to know him. Grandma was all I had, you know? She raised me and Anita without asking for anything in return."

He took a deep breath. "The cross was my mom's, V. And I know that she would want me to give me to the woman I love. And you're her, Veronica." He meets her teary eyes and says, "You're the one for me."

A tear slides down her cheek and she leans forward, kissing Weevil tenderly. He cups her cheek with one hand and when she pulls away, she whispers, "I love you, Eli."

He thinks that maybe he can do this after all.

--

She wakes up with a start, the clock blurring in front of her eyes. Yawning, she stumbles to her feet and down the hall, bare feet padding across the carpet. After using the bathroom, she goes back to Weevil's bedroom and enters the dark room as quietly as she possibly can. Her foot bumps against something on the floor beneath the bed and she winces lightly before bending over, blinking at the object blearily.

At the words scrawled over the front in familiar handwriting, Veronica smiles as she sees Weevil's name. Opening it up, she blinks in surprise at the delicate sketch of Dog Beach's horizon. Flipping the page, she sees a sketch of his motorcycle, now a part of the ocean. As she turns the pages, she can see random people drawn in excruciating detail and even Backup appears in a few sketches, tongue lolling out as he runs across the sandy shore.

Turning another page, her breath catches as she sees a dark-haired woman sketched before her. The woman's profile is all that is drown, eyes shut as she laughs. Taped beneath the sketch is a worn photo with the words, _Amalia Navarro _beneath it.

_Mom_, is written above the sketch in Weevil's writing. She traces the woman's features with a single finger and pauses as she traces the drawn cross that is the exact replica of the one she wears. The sound of Weevil stirring makes her look up and she smiles as he blinks at her sleepily from the bed.

"What you doin', _chica_?" he mumbles and she shrugs, saying, "Found your sketchbook."

He yawns and nods his head. "Yeah," he says. "Been drawing since I could hold a pencil."

"You're really talented," she tells him and Weevil grins blearily at her before yawning again. "Come back to bed, baby," he yawns and she nods her head, saying, "I will, promise."

Weevil grunts and rolls over, falling back into sleep quickly. Smiling slightly, Veronica continues to peruse the sketchbook, grinning as Wallace pops up as well in a few sketches. Her breath stops as she finds a sketch of Logan, scowling at something she can't possibly imagine. She traces his face for a moment before turning the page and finding her father looking up at her.

A smile slips over her features and she turns the page again to find Lilly and Duncan looking back at her. The siblings sit side by side, at the lunch table in school. Lilly's head is thrown back as she laughs while Duncan watches her with amusement in his eyes. Veronica swallows at captured moment between her dead friend and ex-boyfriend.

A few pages fall out and she picks them up, eyes widening as she sees what is drawn on them.

Her eyes stare up at her from one paper, along with one of her hands or her collarbone. Her face is drawn and colored in with a delicate hand. She flips one of the pages and finds that Weevil has written out what looks like a poem above a sketch of her fast asleep. She traces the words quietly with her fingers and looks up at the slumbering form of her boyfriend.

Smiling, she closes the book and climbs back into bed.

--

Weevil shades his eyes briefly as he fumbles for his sunglasses in his car. Grimacing, he steps out of the driver's seat and slides on his sunglasses to protect his eyes from the sun. His first day back at school had to fall on the hottest day of the year, he thinks to himself as he swipes his bag from the trunk and locks the car before walking towards the main entrance.

Trudging across the lot, he can hear some of the murmurs that run through the crowd of students milling around. Pausing at the stairs, he turns to see Thumper walking towards him swiftly, face twisting with anger. He angles his chin up as the smaller boy spits at him, saying, "What are you doin' here, huh Eli? Thought I made it clear that you weren't wanted."

"You know, Thumps," Weevil replies as he crosses his arms over his chest. "No matter who you _think_ you are, you don't control the school system. Unlike you, I want to graduate."

"Maybe you won't make it to graduation," Thumper sneers and Weevil grins wolfishly at him, eyes darkening slightly. "Try me," he says lowly as he shifts his weight. "Just try me, Thumps."

"Is there a problem here?" Veronica's voice cuts through the tension as she steps up to take her place at Weevil's side. She slips her hand in his and adds softly, "Hey babe."

"Morning, _querida_," Weevil replies as he leans over and kisses her cheek gently. Thumper glowers at the action and snaps, "Disgustin', man. Givin' it up to that white trash bitch!"

"You're disgusting," Veronica retorts furiously, her eyes snapping like blue fire. "Give it up, Thumper, everyone knows that all you are is a lesser version of Weevil. So, back off."

"I concur," Logan Echolls says as he appears at Veronica's side. Duncan Kane and Wallace Fennel also appear, the African-American youth holding a baseball bat. He grins at the look on Veronica's face and says with a shrug, "Safety in numbers, Veronica."

"Watch yourself," Thumper spits out as he backs away. "All of you."

Duncan shakes his head and looks at Weevil, asking, "And you were friends with him?"

Weevil snorts. "More like, I told him to jump and he said how high?" Sighing, he turns to look at Wallace and Logan, pausing briefly before saying, "Thanks."

Wallace grins at him and says, "You owe me something. Maybe that Carmen girl's number?"

Weevil laughs and says, "She's a looker, Fennel, you got a good eye."

"Excuse me?" Veronica says in mock outrage as she bumps Weevil with her shoulder. "Were you looking at another girl, Eli Navarro?"

"Why would I?" Weevil asks as he turns to her. "I've got the girl for me right here."

Veronica melts, cooing, "Aww..." as she leans up to kiss him on the mouth. Wallace makes a retching sound as he says, "Man, I don't need to see that!" while Duncan watches in amusement. Logan coughs and says dryly, "While the lovebirds over there swallow each other's faces..."

"Shut up Logan," came the chorus.

Logan blinks. "I think that's the first time my name's been said in stereo," he gasps mockingly as he slaps a hand to his cheek. Weevil rolls his eyes and Veronica shakes her head as she reaches up with her free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. The flash of silver catches Logan's eye and he shuffles his feet as Weevil kisses Veronica goodbye before walking inside to the school office. Wallace cheerily chases after the former biker, pestering him with questions about Carmen and whether or not she would interested in, "...dating a catch such as myself 'cause you know, I am the man!"

To which Veronica hears Weevil reply, rather dryly, "Oh yeah, Fennel. You the player."

"New necklace," Logan comments and Veronica turns her head to look at him, blinking in confusion. Realization dawns on her face and she reached up with her hand to finger the cross. She smiles slightly as she nods her head, saying, "Yeah. Eli gave it to me."

"It's very pretty," Duncan offers and she glances at him, smiling in reply. Logan coughs and says, "So, you're serious about him, huh?"

Veronica arches her brows. "Yeah," she says with a nod. "I'd say I am."

Logan says nothing but the pain in his eyes makes her heart twist in sympathy. Taking a deep breath, she says quietly, "Logan...it's over. We've _been_ over. You know that."

Logan coughs and nods his head. "Yeah," he says and the tone of his voice makes her wince inwardly. "Yeah, I knew that." He makes a motion with his hands. "I'm going to go." He walks into the crowd of students and Veronica sighs as she rubs the cross between her fingers.

"He'll be fine," Duncan tells her quietly and she smiles slightly. "I know," she says. "I just wish...I just wish I didn't have to hurt him."

"You don't plan on who you fall in love with, Veronica," Duncan says quietly. "You just...fall." He squeezes her shoulder and adds, "You glow around him, you know. It's a good look for you." She looks up at him and says softly, "Duncan, I..."

"Hey, don't worry about me," Duncan says warmly. "I'm a survivor, Veronica. I'm a Kane; we can take a lot and come out stronger."

She nods her head and whispers, "I'm sorry Duncan."

Duncan shakes his head. "There's nothing to be sorry _for_," he insists and kisses her cheek. Grinning, he adds, "Hopefully if Weevil hears about that, I can get a head start. See you later." With that, he also vanishes into the throng.

Sighing, Veronica follows.

--

Weevil sits down at lunch, opening up his bag of chips and popping one into his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, he turns to Wallace and says, "When's your next game, man?"

"Uh, next Friday," Wallace answers. "Why?"

Weevil shrugs. "Gotta support my boy, right?"

Wallace grins at that and Veronica plops herself down at Weevil's side, saying cheerily, "Hello!" as she kisses his cheek. Weevil grins at her as he pops another chip and she takes the bag to eat a few. Mac appears, sitting down and pulling out her laptop as she says, "Veronica, I got that information you wanted..."

"Another case?" Weevil arches his brows at his girlfriend. She shrugs and says, "I promise you that the case is in no way connected to Duncan or Logan."

"I trust you," he replies and she grins at him before leaning over to peer at the laptop screen. Weevil proceeds to eat the rest of his chips and then rummages around in his bag for the bottle of water he had packed away that morning. Taking a long drink, he wipes his lips and then says, "Talked to my counselor today."

"What did she say?" Veronica asks as she turns back to him.

Weevil shrugs. "Says if I work my ass off," he admits. "I could probably get into a couple of four year universities. I'd have to take credits at Neptune Community but I'd be able to transfer in two years."

Veronica beams. "That's great!"

"That's if I go into a regular career," he reminds her then hesitates. "But?" Veronica prompts, narrowing her eyes at him. Weevil obliges, saying, "But I told her I was thinking of being an art major. She wanted to know if I had any sketches so I showed her my book."

"What did she say?"

Weevil's face blossoms into a beaming smile. "She said that I'd be accepted without any problems."

Veronica squeals and hugs him, kissing him soundly on the mouth. Weevil accepts her attention with a shy smile and a laugh. Across the quad, Thumper glowers as he watches the couple.

--

The ringing of the cell phone wakes him up from deep sleep. Fumbling, he answers with a bleary, "Yeah?"

"_Eli?" _Keith Mars' voice comes over the line. _"Is Veronica with you?"_

Weevil blinks as he rubs at his eyes, sitting up in bed. "No, sir," he says. "She left here at seven and I walked her to her car."

"_She's not home," _Keith tells him worriedly and his heart stops. _"She wasn't going on any stakeouts was she?"_

"Not that I knew of," Weevil says as he moves swiftly around the room, pulling on jeans and a sweatshirt. "Look, Sheriff, I'm coming to your place, all right? We'll find her."

"_I don't want-_"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," Weevil cuts him off. "Bye Sheriff." Hanging up the phone, he pauses and then leaves his room, gathering his keys and wallet. As he leaves the house, his mind races as to where Veronica could possibly be.

When he pulls up to the apartment complex, Keith Mars is waiting for him, looking older than Weevil remembers. He supposes that he must look terrified as well but doesn't say a thing about it, merely says, "She hasn't called?"

"No," Keith says, worry written in his blue eyes. "I asked a few of the neighbors and none of them have seen her. Are you _sure_ she didn't stay at your place?"

Weevil thinks it would be a bad idea to reply with the fact that if she was, she'd be too exhausted to go anywhere so he says instead, "She was coming straight home as far as I know, sir. I promise you."

"I already called Duncan and Logan," Keith admits. "And they haven't spoken to her today, only at school."

A sick feeling crawls over Weevil as he rubs a hand over his eyes. As he opens his mouth to say his theory out loud, his cell phone rings. Frowning, he answer, saying, "Yeah?"

"_Weevil_?" Hector's voice hisses into his ear.

"Hector?"

"_I got her out of there,_" his former friend says hurriedly. "_But I don't know if I can get her to your place, man, Thumper's out for blood!"_

"Where are you?" he demands and Keith's eyes narrow as Hector answers. Snapping his phone shut, Weevil says grimly, "The docks, sir. That's where they took her."

"They?"

"The PCH Boys."

--

Veronica stumbles alongside Hector as the muscular boy pulls her along by her arm. Her body aches all over, in places she hadn't know could ache and she's pretty certain that she has a sprained ankle and twisted shoulder. Hector glances behind them as they get farther away from the docks and she wonders if the fear in his eyes is all for show.

"Why are you helping me?" she whispers and the tall boys says nothing for a moment. She waits patiently as they pause behind large crates, hidden from view of the other bikers walking around the docks. Hector glances back at the tiny blonde, his dark eyes traveling over her with the ease of someone accustomed to sizing up their opponent.

Veronica's face is filthy from being kept in a storage closet with a bare bulb; her hair is in tangles around her face and her jeans have a new hole in the right leg. But her eyes still spark with a fierceness and strength that Hector has only seen in one other person his whole life.

"You and Eli," he says after a minute. "You two are good, right? He treats you like he does his family. He gave you his mama's cross. That tells me if you were gone or if you were hurt..." The boy looks away. "He'd change. He wouldn't be Eli no more."

"But why would you-?"

"Go against Thumper," Hector smirks grimly. "Asshole's gonna get us all killed. I know that; I'm not stupid. But he's hiding stuff that I can't figure out yet. He's...dangerous on a level that isn't even funny, Mars."

She doesn't answer; she doesn't get the chance. The sound of sirens has the assorted bikers scattering as blue and red lights flash. Hector swears as he pulls her towards another row of crates, a familiar shout making her whip her head around.

Weevil is running towards her, skirting the bikers. Behind him, follows her father who looks haggard and worry is written in his face, even she can tell that from this distance. Her eyes widen as Thumper appears behind them, a gun in his hand.

A scream rips from her throat: "No!" as her father and Weevil both turn. She finds herself up against a wall, Hector having thrown himself in front of her. His hands have been planted squarely above her head, his eyes staring straight into hers. They widen briefly and then he whispers, "Shit..." before collapsing to the ground.

And then there is only the sound of sirens and chaos.

--

Weevil sits, Veronica sleeping peacefully with her head in his lap. He threads his fingers through her hair, staring at the golden strands quietly. Keith snores across from them, neck at an awkward angle that he thinks will cause the former Sheriff a problem later. Sighing deeply, he looks down towards the hallway where Hector had been admitted.

Sheriff Lamb scowls at him from where he stands in the hallway and Weevil glares right back. The man had wanted to arrest him for his participation in the whole fiasco that evening but when Keith had taken him aside to say something that made him go white, Weevil had figured he wasn't going to jail.

Thumper had been taken into custody as well as a few of the known Fitzpatrick cronies hanging around the dock. The smaller youth had shouted threats at everyone but been shut up when he'd been informed he was also being charged with attempted murder.

Weevil grins to himself as he remembers the look on Thumper's face.

"Mr. Navarro?"

He looks up and gently shakes Veronica awake; she stirs and sits up, rubbing her eyes in a way that makes her look like a little girl. The doctor smiles at them and says quietly, "Your friend is going to be fine. The bullet didn't pierce anything major, thankfully."

A burden was taken off his shoulders, Weevil sagging forward with relief. Sheriff Lamb grunts in annoyance and looking at the doctor, says, "When can I take him into custody?"

"Hector didn't do anything to me," Veronica says fiercely as she rises to her feet. "He didn't know Thumper was going to kidnap me and as soon as he had a chance, he got me out of there!"

"Well, isn't he a regular saint?" Lamb sneers as he glares at the blonde. "But since he's already got a bunch of charges, including accessory to murder and drugs, I don't think it matters!"

"You know something," Lamb begins and Weevil feels his patience snap as he says harshly, "No, _you_ know something, Lamb? You don't got _shit_ on Hector. He's just been shot and you're already trying to fuck his life up more! Get over yourself and get a fuckin' life! Stop chasing a couple of high school kids and trying to make yourself look like a fuckin' hero!"

Ignoring the look of fury on Lamb's face, he turns to the doctor and asks, "Can I see Hector now?"

At the doctor's nod, he glances behind his shoulder at Veronica. She smiles and quirks her brow in a way that tells him she'll be waiting for him to finish up. Leaving them all behind, he follows the doctor to Hector's room and pauses in the doorway at the sight of his friend. Being one of the smaller members of the PCH had always been a problem for Weevil; having larger boys like Hector had been his way of giving people something to fear when he had begun leading the group. Now, his friend looks incredibly small in the hospital bed, breathing slowly. An IV is attached to his arm and he stirs, cracking his eyes open. He enters then and says, "Hey man. You look like shit."

Hector laughs weakly. "Gettin' shot will do that to you."

Weevil nods and then pauses, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Why?" he asks finally and Hector blinks at him. Elaborating, he asks, "Why'd you do it, man? Why throw yourself in front of her?"

"Shit," Hector says as he shifts in the bed, grimacing in pain before continuing. "She makes you happy, man. What was I gonna do? Let her die? Fuck that, man."

"But-"

"Eli," Hector says seriously and Weevil lifts his head up to look at him. "You two, you got a connection. Everyone can see it; even Thumper could see it. What you got with Veronica is solid and real. There's a bond between the two of you."

"You been reading that Greek shit again, haven't you?"

"Maybe," Hector grins. "Go home man. My sister's probably coming here and you know how she gets." Nodding, Weevil shakes Hector's hand and says quietly, "Thank you."

Hector shrugs. "No problem."

When he walks back into the waiting room, Veronica sits with her dad, head on his shoulder. Keith is also fast alseep, head lolling back as he snores loudly. Shaking his head, Weevil wakes them both up and they all make their way to the Mars' apartment complex. Keith mumbles something and vanishes into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Veronica tugs him into her room, shutting it firmly behind her, and yawns, saying quietly, "I'm exhausted."

He kisses her brow and murmurs, "V?"

"Yeah?"

He stares at her for a moment, mind racing back to before they had begun to date, before they had taken that trip across the country. Before he had taken his life in his hands and reached out to Veronica, and she had reached back. Swallowing, he kisses her gently in the dawn's morning light, tongue parting her lips with comfortable ease.

They shed each other's clothing with trembling fingers, the night's events catching up to them. Her body is turned into ivory as the sun's rays travel over her nude form. He slips his hands across her skin, finding those places that he knows without any hesitation. She shudders beneath him and he whispers to her, "'_I don't love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, or arrow of carnations that propagate fire-'" _as he runs his mouth over her jawn, into her skin.

His finger touches the cross that hangs from her neck; the dawn's rays filtering through her window. Quietly, he continues as his fingers slide into her, "'_I love you as one loves certain dark things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul_.'"

"'_I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom or carries the light of those flowers,'" _hewhispers into her ear as he sinks into her body. "'_Hidden, within itself, and thanks to your love the tight aroma of the rose from the earth lives in my body in darkness." _

"'_I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,'" _her voice murmurs into his ear, surprising him enough to make him stop.She smiles, eyes brilliant in the soft light. "'_I love you directly without problems or pride; I love you like this because I don't know any other way to love._" She tightens her muscles around him and he begins to move again, hips sliding against hers. Her arms tighten around him as she kisses him fiercely before pulling away.

"'_Except in this form_,'" Veronica whispers as her eyes meet his and hold. "_In which I am not nor are you, so close that your hand upon my chest is mine, so close that your eyes close within my dreams._'" She smiles at the look on his face, touching his cheek gently as they both reach the peak of their lovemaking. They curl up together as the dawn breaks, neither speaking a word for those aren't necessary.

In this, the bond between them is strengthened and made whole.

**FIN**


End file.
